Wednesday, April 4, 2012

Stop Trashing Brooklyn!

This past Monday, OUTRAGE, participated in the Stop Trashing Brooklyn forum hosted by Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz. Members of Organization of Waterfront Neighborhoods, a coalition of environmental justice focused organizations (OUTRAGE, NYC Environmental Justice Alliance, New York Lawyers for Public Interest, Habitat Map, El Puente, UPROSE) presented at this forum. They shared the injustices their communities face and why the City of NY must implement the Solid Waste Management Plan today. They also called on every borough, wealthy or poor, to accept their share of the garbage burden in NYC. One, two, or three boroughs can not take the brunt of the garbage problem in NY any longer. We have already waited too long. It takes five boroughs to produce the burden of garbage that North Brooklyn is facing today. This sentiment was not only shared by the panel members, but the respondents panel as well, which included elected officials and representatives from the offices of Stephen Levin, Nydia Velazquez, Diana Reyna, and Brad Lander. They all voiced their own personal stories of how this burden negatively impacts their own quality of life. The only way to ensure fair share of the garbage burden is by implementing the Solid Waste Management Plan of 2006.

You can help us continue the fight for environmental justice by calling Speaker Quinn (212-788-7210) right away to tell her that:...
We thank her for her leadership and support in passing the 2006 Solid Waste Management Plan-however, two communities in Brooklyn still handle an unfair share of the City's garbage! (Greenpoint and Williamsburg)
The Council must FINISH THE JOB-Support legislation to reduce the waste capacity of land-based waste transfer station...s handled in overburdened communities. Make sure that each borough handles its own garbage.
The Council must SAY NO TO INCINERATORS-the "thermal Waste-to-Energy" Industry offers the same toxic incinerator pollution under a different name to our already overburdened communities.

For more information call the Organization of Waterfront Neighborhoods-212-244-4664 ex474" or contact Courtney Renken at crenken@stnicksalliance.org.